The Fear
by Artemis Day
Summary: Everyone's afraid of something...


**A/N: This should be a research paper for my Writing for College class, but it's not.**

******

It's eyes bore into him. Like a hungry tiger on the prowl, it waited. Waited for it's prey to make a move, any kind of defiant step forward either in acceptance of death or determination to escape. The Goblin King stared at the foul beast before him not even daring to make a move.

And the hideous creature watched, as if expecting it's prey to put up a fight, no mater how futile it knew the situation was and Jareth didn't dare look away from the monster. He stood completely rigid, watching it take step after agonizingly slow step closer to him. The fae king could not fully understand the feelings rising into his gut, he knew what they were but he hadn't felt them since he was a child and had first seen the monster.

His mother had just put him to bed when it happened. He was about to fall asleep when he felt a strange tickle on his face. Young Jareth opened his eyes and saw the most horrifying sight he had ever and probably would ever see in his life. The creature gazed down on him with it's grossly oversized eyes. A long spindly finger brushing his cheek as if in a form of twisted affection. Jareth had been paralyzed by fear almost to the point of being unable to scream for help.

To this day Jareth was unsure of how he survived the horrifying incident. All he knew was that he never wanted to see the beast again. Now hundreds of years later, he walked into his study to find that it was back, ready to finally claim Jareth's soul like it had failed to do so long ago.

Perhaps a part of him always knew this day would come, and maybe that was why he didn't put up a fight when the monster crept just a little closer towards him. He wondered briefly what his father would say if he could see his son now. He would definitely want his son to fight back. He was a King after all, he could not let himself be taken down by such a foul demon. But his father didn't understand, he had never seen the creature the way Jareth had, never awoken in the dead of night to find it there watching him with those malevolent eyes.

Sweat poured down the Goblin King's brow, some even venturing down his cheeks making them tickle. He ignored the sensation though, his mind completely focused on beast about to destroy him. Jareth closed his eyes, accepting his fate and mentally preparing himself for his imminent demise.

"Jareth?"

His eyes snapped open and his heart dropped into his stomach. His sensitive ears allowed him to hear her steadily approaching steps as her voice rang out once again.

"Jareth, where are you?"

Jareth's fists tightened as he prayed that she wouldn't come into the room. Even if he was to die, he could not allowed his beloved wife to suffer the same fate. In that moment he realized that one way or another, he would be leaving her today, for even though it pained him to admit it, he was no match for this horrible monster's power.

"Jareth?" her voice grew louder still and now appeared to be just behind the door.

He tried to call out to her, tell her to run, hide, anything but open the door and allow the beast to discover her, for then it would surely take her too. But his mouth refused to obey him and he could only stand helplessly as his young wife entered the room.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you, wha-"

When she suddenly stopped Jareth assumed she had seen the monster. He wasn't sure if it had seen her however, until it stepped closer, veering slightly off in her direction. Then he knew that they were both doomed. He knew how stubborn his wife could be. She had to be to have beaten his Labyrinth several years ago, but if he couldn't defeat the demonic creature, she had no chance against it.

Still, Jareth could barely contain his shock when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark haired head dart past him and defiantly approach the beast. In her hands was a large book which she slowly raised over her head.

Finding his voice, Jareth struggled to call her back before the monster attacked her.

"S-Sar-"

Before he could finish, the book came flying down with a loud bang onto the beast. Jareth let out a breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding as his wife picked the book up to reveal nothing more than the grotesque, unmoving body of the monster that had for years haunted his nightmares. Completely shocked, Jareth's blue eyes found Sarah's green ones as she let out a long, exasperated sigh.

"Really Jareth, all this over a _spider_?"


End file.
